Alexander said coldly, "Step aside. There's nothing you can do."
Count Bobrinsky's pupils contracted, and he shouted to the servants, "Stop them, including the Crown Prince! This is a coup!"
Alexander glanced at the seven or eight robust servants—these were all elite guards Count Bobrinsky had selected from the Gemini Trading Company; formidable fighters—he frowned, knowing his father might escape at any moment and he could afford no further delay.
Suddenly, he pulled out a pistol, cocked it, but turned the barrel toward his own heart, loudly declaring to Count Bobrinsky, "I was wrong. I will take responsibility for all of this."
He immediately pulled the trigger, the deafening gunshot left everyone stunned.
Events unfolded so rapidly that for an instant, only one thought remained in Count Bobrinsky's mind: "The Crown Prince is dead." He abruptly pushed aside the servants blocking his way and rushed toward Alexander, who had collapsed on the ground.
